image: Boston College Professor Hanqin Tian will receive the Bert Bolin Award and Lecture from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), recognizing his groundbreaking research and leadership in global environmental change.
Credit: Boston College
Chestnut Hill, Mass (9/25/2025) – Boston College Professor Hanqin Tian will receive the Bert Bolin Award and Lecture from the American Geophysical Union (AGU), recognizing his groundbreaking research and leadership in global environmental change.
This award is named to honor the work and life of Bert Bolin, a Swedish meteorologist who served as the first chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Tian will deliver the Bert Bolin Lecture at AGU25, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, in December.
Tian is the Director of the Center for Earth System Science and Global Sustainability, an Institute Professor in the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, and Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He also directs the newly established Global Carbon Project’s Boston Office (GCP-Boston), which fosters international collaboration on global carbon and nitrogen cycles, the food–energy–water nexus, and sustainable food systems — providing actionable insights for global sustainability.
“I am deeply honored and humbled to receive the Bert Bolin Award and Lecture,” Tian said. “Throughout my career, I have been inspired by Bert Bolin’s legacy of integrating multiple disciplines to advance our understanding of coupled human–Earth systems. This recognition highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research in addressing global environmental and sustainability challenges, and it underscores how science can guide action for human well-being and the common good.”
AGU, the world’s largest Earth and space science association, celebrates individuals and teams through its annual Honors and Recognition program for accomplishments in research, education, science communication, and outreach. These honorees have transformed understanding of the world, impacted daily life, strengthened communities, and contributed to solutions for a sustainable future.
A pioneering leader in global environmental change, Professor Tian’s discoveries have fundamentally advanced understanding of biogeochemical cycles and their roles in the climate system. His scholarship is original, rigorous, and impactful, bridging science and policy at the highest levels.
Tian has published more than 420 peer-reviewed papers with nearly 70,000 citations and an H-index of 119, placing him among the top 1 percent of highly cited researchers worldwide (Clarivate Web of Science). He is recognized by Reuters as one of the world’s most influential climate scientists and is an elected Fellow of AGU, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), as well as an Andrew Carnegie Fellow.
Over the past decade, Tian has made several landmark contributions. His 2016 Nature paper reframed the role of the biosphere in climate change, while his 2020 Nature paper provided the most comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks — central to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and UNEP’s 2024 Global Nitrous Oxide Assessment — directly shaping international climate negotiations.
More recently, his breakthrough work on the land–ocean interface enabled the first inclusion of previously missing lateral greenhouse gas fluxes, helping to close the global carbon and nitrogen budgets.
Professor Tian joins a distinguished group of scientists, leaders, and communicators recognized by AGU for advancing science and inspiring solutions for a thriving, sustainable, and equitable future. He will deliver the Bert Bolin Lecture at AGU25, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, December 15–19, 2025, with honorees celebrated at the AGU Honors Reception, themed “Where Science Connects Us.”, which highlights groundbreaking achievements that advance science and inspire the AGU community through their stories and successes.
AGU (www.agu.org) is a global community supporting more than half a million advocates and professionals in the Earth and space sciences. Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerate knowledge and create solutions that are ethical, unbiased and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C. and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.
Boston College is a private Catholic research university located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, it is the first institution of higher education to operate in the city of Boston. Today, Boston College is among the nation's foremost universities, recognized for its leadership in the liberal arts, scientific inquiry, and student formation. Grounded in the ideals that inspired its Jesuit founders, the university encourages students to develop their minds and talents to the fullest and use them in service to others. The university offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through its nine colleges and schools.